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eyear 2000:
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I'll Probably Suck
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weeK I aSKea a friend about the pink sashes ha ng off the trees on Prince Arthur, between St. Urbain and ne-Mance. I learned that November was breast ca month. Gave me something to think about. This week a lot of people will be sporting white ribbon their chests. And while it's difficult at this time of year ink of anything besides reports and projects and exams, this for a moment: In 1998, there were 402 cases of Innrton rape on the 476 campuses across the United States ( always, it proved far easier to find numbers on a nation 0 sessed with statistics). Ten years after Marc Lepine savagely rifled it onto ou lective consciousness, the ugly scepter of violence towa men still hangs over our heads. Ten years ago Lepine m ered fourteen female engineering students at Ecol 'nl\l+~chnique because, well, because they were women. lous pattern of thoughts and beliefs that probably led pine into committing such brutality would be funny if 路r consequences were not so very tragic. How does
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arrive at the point where they can direct so much hatred
hthers because of nothing more than their gender (or r b~liefs or (:olour for that matter)? Who does that? Sadly, At the University of Massachusetts, Tuesday night ies' Night. I don't call it that because the girls get free dri the bars there. As I write this, every Tuesday for the nth a woman has been attacked, sometimes in broad d ht, on campus. Two rapes, two assaults. Tomorrow is T ay. As far as McGill is concerned I can't give you numbe ut I wish I had the words to describe the sheer terror on ce of a friend of mine who .was assaulted here. Maybe attacker would read it and be confronted by the pain that he's caused. Maybe he'd never do such a thing again. I guess what I'm trying to say is that ten years of awa ess raiSing campaigns have done a lot, but not enough. So you pick up your white ribbon this week, take a mom think about the statement you make when wearing it. it'll be that violence against women is not acceptable. You express it differently. However you put it though, ma statement an integral part of who you are so that when you hts turn back to exams and holidays, and once yo Istopped wearing your ribbon, you'll still carry the message u wherever you go. Even when you're not wearing it, peop II see the white ribbon in your actions, your attitude and s. And when they ask you about it, tell them that Irnnn+h is white ribbon month.
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